Aye, Avast and Shiver me timbers! Like any red blooded American, I enjoy a good ale. This record makes me want to return to 1994 when all I did was drink. You take a pint of Flogging Molly and a fist full of Flatfoot 56 and give it a metal edge and you have one of the best drinking records for metalheads! I speak to you of Alestorm and their fourth release "Sunset on the Golden Age" So take a pull of a Blackfrier or bottle of Scotch and raise your glass and sway along to the stories of adventures on the open sea when men were men and the vegetables were scared.
We set sail with the first tune of dismay, "Walk the Plank". We're just getting started and already the Captain wants a lilly-livered scallywag in Davy Jones' locker! The rhythms are fierce and pounding in this one and it's only the beginning. With the Captain happy at the demise of a runt, they set off to some pub to plunder the inventory in the song which of course is titled, "DRINK"! (so, what are you waiting for ?!) "Magnetic North" and "(The Battle of Cartagena)" are vicious displays of what whiskey does to your voice. On top of that, the riffs and tones are endless and deep like the blue sea.
A bit of extremity avails is "Mead from Hell". The song is over and my head and won’t stop banging against the taffrail. I like the punk element in "Surf Squid Warfare" and the thrash side comes out in "Wooden Leg" - (I knew a guy with a wooden leg named Smith... I forgot the name of his other leg). The song "Hangover" just rules! Now we dock in the port of "Sunset on the Golden Age" - a little different and more serious that the rest of the record. I like this one
I totally wanna be a drunken Scottish pirate now! To be on the crew of Alestorm, sailing the seas of cheese and drinkin’ lots of rum! The crew knows how to have fun and smash things up a bit. Don't think these guys are hacks, because they're not. The guitar solos are great, the singer is perfect for the sound, the drumming is excellent and the bassist kicks booty! The downside is its only nine songs deep. The upside is its fun! And no slow songs either. I enjoyed it - me thinks they're deserving of the cat of 9 tails.
Check 'em out at alestorm.net and get some stuff or I'll hang ye by the yardarm! You won’t like that me hearty!
Tim Duran, HMS
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